He denounced the probe as a "political assassination" and said:
"I will not give up, I will not surrender, I will not withdraw."
He also said he would fully cooperate and appear before the
judges as requested.

During the press conference, he asked his supporters to "resist"
against the attacks targetting him and to continue backing him
despite his "mistakes."

Fillon had on Wednesday morning, at the last minute,
postponed a planned visit to the annual Paris farm fair, a hugely
important stop in any candidate's campaign, which led to
speculations he might drop out of the race.

Once the favourite to replace socialist François Hollande at the
Elysée, Fillon's rating in opinion polls has fallen after French
authorities launched an inquiry into the fake parliamentary
jobs for his family.

Fillon is now trailing far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and
independent Emmanuel Macron in voting intention polls for the
first round of the elections.